Life Cycle Assessment of the Lightweight Timber Structures with Bio-Based Aggregate Composites
4th International Conference "Coordinating Engineering for Sustainability and Resilience" & Midterm Conference of CircularB "Implementation of Circular Economy in the Built Environment". Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering. Vol.489 2024
Diāna Bajāre, Ģirts Būmanis, Līga Puzule, Māris Šinka, Tatjana Tambovceva

The lightweight structures play a crucial role in mitigating the environmental impact of buildings throughout their lifespan. There is an interest in exploring various agricultural by-products as effective aggregates for filling framed timber structures. Natural fibers, such as hemp shives, are gaining attention for their environmental benefits, including biodegradability, renewability, recyclability, composability, and their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By harnessing these natural fibers, it is possible to reduce emissions associated with the most popular wall structures. Moreover, this approach reduces agricultural waste and facilitates integration into a circular economy model. This study delves into the effects of bio-composites created from hemp shives, combined with starch, gypsum, and a geopolymer binder, in fabricating lightweight timber structures. These lightweight structures are compared among themselves and conventionally used wall structures, assuming one square meter of wall with a specific U-value as the comparative unit. Results from a life cycle assessment revealed that these innovative lightweight timber wall structures yield CO2 emissions ranging from −13.94 to 82.89 kg of CO2 equivalent per square meter. In contrast, compared to traditional brick wall constructions, these structures offer substantial savings, potentially reducing emissions by up to 149.38 kg of CO2 equivalent per square meter. This research underscores the promising environmental advantages of utilizing natural fiber-based bio-composites in constructing lightweight timber structures, emphasizing their potential to reduce carbon footprints in building construction significantly.


Keywords
Bio-Composite | Geopolymer | Gypsum | Life Cycle Assessment | Lightweight | Starch
DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-57800-7_54
Hyperlink
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-57800-7_54

Bajāre, D., Būmanis, Ģ., Puzule, L., Šinka, M., Tambovceva, T. Life Cycle Assessment of the Lightweight Timber Structures with Bio-Based Aggregate Composites. In: 4th International Conference "Coordinating Engineering for Sustainability and Resilience" & Midterm Conference of CircularB "Implementation of Circular Economy in the Built Environment". Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering. Vol.489, Romania, Timisoara, 29-31 May, 2024. Cham: Springer Nature, 2024, pp.582-591. ISBN 978-303157799-4. ISSN 2366-2557. e-ISSN 2366-2565. Available from: doi:10.1007/978-3-031-57800-7_54

Publication language
English (en)
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